Update: 4/2003—The Parkinson Alliance co-sponsors March 15, 2003 Washington, D.C. R21 Fast Track Meeting

The Parkinson Alliance proudly co-sponsored the March 15, 2003 Parkinson's Disease R21 Fast Track Meeting held in Washington D.C. during which investigators shared their exciting preliminary data on Parkinson's disease research. This meeting was vitally important for the unity of Parkinson's organizations and our common goal of finding a cure to Parkinson's. Complete information on the meeting is available here.

R21 "Fast Track" Program Awards $11 Million in Grants

The Parkinson Alliance and The Tuchman Foundation are proud to be part of an unprecedented collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and private Parkinson's organizations to jointly fund a program of $11 million in Parkinson's disease research grants. The R21 Fast Track Grant Program awarded 35 two-year grants making it the largest initiatives in the history of NIH's Parkinson's disease research.

The awards were made through an innovative streamlining of the NIH's normal grant process. The goal was to stimulate novel, or high impact approaches relevant to the cure, cause, prevention, or improved treatments of Parkinson's disease. The new process includes: (1) an emphasis on innovative projects; (2) an abbreviated application form; (3) an accelerated review and award process; and (4) a proven, multidisciplinary review committee.

A great deal of good has come out of this program. First and foremost, a large body of excellent research is being funded—an investment that will bear fruit for years to come. Second, a number of new investigators have been attracted to the Parkinson's disease research field. Third, a precedent has been established for a public-private partnership in Parkinson's that will lead to future initiatives. In addition, the Parkinson's community is truly working together on research. We are very proud to be working with NIH on this extraordinary collaborative project and believe it gets us one step closer to finding the cure by 2005.

In addition The Parkinson Alliance, the following Parkinson's nonprofits are helping fund the R21 Fast Grant Program:

• The Parkinson's Disease Foundation
• National Parkinson Foundation
• Parkinson's Parkinson Alliance
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
  

Award Winners

The following researchers (listed in alphabetical order) have been awarded grants through the R21 program:

Alberto Ascherio, MD, PhD Harvard University School of Public Health	Anne Messer, PhD Wadsworth Center
Krys Bankiewicz, MD, PhD University of California at San Francisco	David G. Morgan, PhD University of South Florida
Marie Csete, PhD University of Michigan	George A. Oyler, MD, PhD University of Maryland at Baltimore
Lee A. Cunningham, PhD University of New Mexico	Vincent A. Pieribone, PhD John B. Pierce Laboratory, Inc.
Ted M. Dawson, MD, PhD Johns Hopkins University	Lorraine O. Ramig, PhD University of Colorado
Julie Desbarats, PhD McGill University	Eric K. Richfield, MD, PhD University of Rochester
Grigori Enikolopov, PhD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory	David Ron, MD New York University
Anthony L. Fink, PhD University of California at Santa Cruz	Scott J. Sherman, MD, PhD University of Arizona
Gary M. Fiskum, PhD University of Maryland at Baltimore	Ann L. Smiley-Oyen, PhD Iowa State University of Science and Technology
Peter T. Fox, MD University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio	Caryl E. Sortwell, PhD Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
Lawrence I. Golbe, MD Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ	Michal K. Stachowiak, PhD State University of New York at Buffalo
Su Guo, PhD University of California at San Francisco	Chantal E. Stern, D.Phil Boston University
Theo Hagg, MD, PhD Dalhousie University	Caroline M. Tanner, MD, PhD The Parkinson's Institute
John F. Houde, PhD University of California at San Francisco	Takao Yagi, PhD Scripps Research Institute
Peng Huang, PhD Medical University of South Carolina	Naoki Yoshimura, PhD University of Pittsburgh
Lorraine M. Iacovitti, PhD Thomas Jefferson University
Susan Lindquist, PhD University of Chicago
Jerilyn A. Logemann, PhD Northwestern University